347 Tasting Notes

I ordered two big Golden Tips Teas samplers about a year ago (almost exactly a year ago, actually) and there are still so many I haven’t even tried yet. Gotta get on that! Golden Tips seems to be in the process of rebranding itself as Vahdam, and this particular sample bag is branded Vahdam so that’s how I’ve entered it into the system.

This is a classic assam: strong, malty, slightly astringent. There’s a hint of fruitiness/acidity with a clean feeling on the palate. The leaf is mostly dark/black, and small/broken. It’s good but not particularly remarkable. Would probably be good with milk.

I was in the mood for something gingery because my stomach has been a bit weird today. Came across this one and thought sure, why not? This is a complex herbal blend, I can definitely taste the ginger, tulsi, and citrus.. maybe a hint of floral too. I steeped it western-style for 4min and added a tsp of manuka honey, which I can definitely recommend. It’s warming and soothing and a bit sweet.

Another sample from Ost, yay. :) I don’t think I have much of a palate for jasmine teas, in the sense that I tend to just go “yup, that sure is a jasmine tea alright”. I mean, I’ve had cheaper jasmine pearls that tasted soapy to me, and this tea definitely doesn’t do that, so that’s a point in its favour. The base green tea must be pretty smooth and sweet because I’m really getting no bitterness or astringency in this at all. Lovely jasmine aroma and flavour. Why do I keep forgetting that I like jasmine tea? I do. It reminds me of going for dim sum, which I haven’t done in a really long time. Mmmm. Still waiting for spring to really kick in up here, so at least I have a nice floral green to get me in the right frame of mind. :)

Another great sample from Ost. :) This is a really refreshing flavoured oolong – the base tea is very green, with fresh crisp floral notes. I’m not at all suprised to see that it’s a baozhong. The peach flavouring is juicy and not too strong or artificial tasting. This is lovely, might try it cold-steeped next.

I’m so glad to have a chance to try out all these Della Terra teas. :) Thanks again to Ost for the samples! This one is fun-looking because of the sprinkles and marshmallows. I definitely get some marshmallow flavour in my cup, though the caramel is pretty subtle (I don’t think there were any caramel pieces in this scoop of tea, which may explain it). Mostly I’m just tasting the black tea base, which is actually quite nice – fairly rich and malty, so maybe it’s an assam, but minimal astringency even with a longer second steep.

This is the other one I had yesterday, and I didn’t find it to be as… flavourful? as the birthday cupcake. Maybe this tea is a bit older than the other one? Anyway, it’s not bad, you can still get some sweet cake notes and a bit of fruitiness, but I would have never identified it as pineapple upside down cake specifically. Pretty good though, especially with a bit of milk and sugar added.

This is from memory, but I remember this being surprisingly true to the name! Sweet, cakey, and with a creamy icing note as well. There’s a bit of oil on top that might turn people off, but I think that adds a bit to the creaminess.

Oooo! This one was a surprise, because for some reason the name made me think it was going to be an unflavoured black tea blend. Ost sent me a bunch of sachets to try, so I tossed one in a mug, poured on boiling water, came back 3min later and was like “whoa… definitly not unflavoured”. :) Then I sipped and sniffed for a while, trying to guess the flavour. I definitely got a citrus flavour, thought it was bergamot or lemon. And then I was pretty sure there was a creamy vanilla sweetness in there. But it didn’t taste like just a cream earl grey, there were some other berry/fruit notes in there as well. Now that I’ve read the description, I definitely get the “preserves” essence that they describe. The base tea is rich and sweet and complements the flavour very well. This is really yummy, I’m happy to have more sachets for later. :)

I had this earlier today and found it to be a tasty, but fairly unremarkable Assam. Smooth, malty, pretty much what I expect from a good assam. Reading other people’s reviews makes me think I should go back and pay a bit more attention. :)

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Well it has been over a year and everyone I know thinks my tea obsession is a bit out of hand, so… I guess I’m not a total newbie anymore. :)

I’m drinking a lot more pure tea these days, though I still love a good flavoured blend too. Current favourites: Chinese and Taiwanese blacks, fresh Chinese greens, oolongs both green and roasted, sheng puer.

I really love companies that buy directly from tea farmers, and have an emphasis on quality and sustainability. Favourites: Verdant, Whispering Pines, Eco Cha, White 2 Tea. I live in a small town in the middle of nowhere, so I buy almost all my tea online.

For hot tea, I’m usually brewing in either a 100ml gaiwan, or a 10oz mug with a steeping basket. For cold tea, I cold brew overnight in 500ml mason jars.

My cupboard on Steepster doesn’t include small samples, just the ones I have at least 15g of. So if you see something you’re interested in, I probably have enough to share. :)